Enjoying the fine weather in Cromer last month, and there's more on the way

Archant Norfolk 2014

As the county gears up for the hottest day of the year tomorrow, Network Rail has altered a number of services to ‘help protect the infrastructure.’

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In an online statement, Abellio Greater Anglia said: “Because of the predicted high temperatures that are forecast on Friday 18 July, Network Rail will be introducing speed restrictions on parts of the network between 13.00 and 20.30 to help protect the infrastructure in this hot weather.”

Services through Ipswich, Colchester and London have all been affected.

Today, temperatures peaked at 29.1C in London, while much of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland also saw temperatures in the mid-to-late 20s.

The message from meteorologists though, is that tomorrow is set to be even hotter.

Forecaster Jim Bacon from UEA-based Weatherquest said: “It could very well be the hottest day of the year for some places.

“East Anglia is going to have a south-easterly breeze so that means the coastal parts of the region will have lower temperatures and inland areas and the west of the region will be hotter.

“On the coast, the breeze off the sea will take the edge of the temperatures, which will be around 28 or so and there will be plenty of sunshine.”

Looking ahead to Saturday, forecasters predict a bright and humid day, with a risk of some thundery showers later in the day.

Stuck indoors all day? Don’t miss your guide to making the most of the warm summer evenings in Friday’s EDP.

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7 comments

NO! "The slightest weather event , .... seems to effect this route." It doesn't! None of that 'effects' this route; though it might 'affect' this route. Sorted. I suppose one could ask 'in this day and age' why we can't run trains in almost ALL weather conditions. But a lot of the infrastructure and the superstructure if you mean the overhead lines, belong to a different age. How do trains run in the hottest parts of the Med. or of the USA? Come on, GB. Let's move forward to this century.

@Blister - you are correct that there have been more problems recently than when the diesels ran, but there's several reasons for this. Firstly, there's nearly double the number of trains running along this route, which means that there's little slack in the system, so when things go wrong, they go badly wrong. Secondly, the overhead line equipment nearer to London is quite ancient, so more prone to breakdown. The equipment nearer Norwich is more modern, but as on the East Coast Main Line, it was put in "on the cheap" to a very minimal standard, so again is prone to failure. On the Continent the overhead equipment is far more robust so not nearly as unreliable. As for third rail, don't even go there. The Southern region regularly grinds to a halt when it's icy due to ice build up on the conductor rail, can only be used on relatively slower speed lines, and is quite dangerous for those who have to work on or around the track. Third rail 750 volt DC is also very inefficient compared with 25,000 volt AC.

Am sure this never happened when they ran diesel trains on this route and am still not convinced of the efficiency of overhead power lines compared to the third rail system in London and the south east that seems to have been working well in all weathers since the 1930s . The slightest weather event , wind, rain, ice seems to effect this route